Earthenware Shaving Bowl, 1800s

Ancient shaving dish from Nevers Auxerre with a cartouche at the center bearing the initials monogram F R.
The dish is beautifully decorated.

In good condition with a chip in the enamel on the edge.

Dimensions:

28cm x 24cm (11.02 inches x 9.45 inches)
Height: 6cm (2.36 inches)


A male toilet object, the bearded dishes have a specific bowl shape. The lower part of the cut, called the chin strap, allowed the barber to place the dish under the client’s chin to receive the shaved beard hair and foam. These objects are sometimes provided with one or two cavities on the marli, one to foam the soap and the other to receive the ball that was placed between the jaw and the cheek in order to stretch the skin and facilitate shaving.

A beard dish is an object used by barbers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Usually in silverware, copper, porcelain or earthenware, the bearded dish was often richly decorated. Equipped with a ring fixed on an edge or holes, it could be hung on a wall or in a piece of furniture. It was also stored after use in a piece of furniture called barbière.

A small hollow sometimes presented on one side of the dish could either hold the latter with an inch or accommodate a boxwood ball or a spoon. This very original accessory was placed in the customer’s mouth in order to inflate the customer’s cheek to facilitate shaving the beard. Indeed, many men of the time lacked teeth and the hollowed out cheeks made shaving dangerous.